CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Megan Broadnax recently stared down her fears and came out the other side to perform on stage in front of thousands of people at the New Orleans Superdome.

"I've been singing since I was baby, and I feel I have a strong musical background. I grew up listening to gospel, R&B, soul, and I have gone to various arts schools," Broadnax said discussing the journey that brought her to the Superdome. "I'm now at Austin Peay, where I study communications, and I sing locally with my church."

Discovering herself

Much of her musical development, Broadnax said, has been about discovering what kind of artist she is. Not that this search has been an arduous experience, though.

"It's been exciting, just discovering different types of music and figuring out what suits my voice," she said. "As I get older, I lean more toward gospel, but singing just makes me happy. It takes me away to another world, and that's one of my strongest and most prized gifts."

Though she had some formative experience in high school pop ensembles, and continued to sing in her church, until very recently Broadnax hadn't been quite so focused on pursuing a career in music. She's the public affairs intern at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, alongside her commitment to studying for her degree in communications at APSU.

Going after it

Her focus shifted a little when she stumbled across a notice posted online.

"I was on Facebook, and I saw a flier for the 'You're My Star' contest," Broadnax said. The flier was reaching out for talented singers, offering the prize of performing with R&B artist Tank at the Essence Festival in New Orleans. "In the past, my problem has been I've always let fear hold me back. But seeing that flier was different – I was compelled to go after it."

Over the course of five weeks, participants were invited to send in videos of themselves performing a song selected each week by Tank. Broadnax managed to push aside her fears to enter the contest, but that's not to say she didn't experience moments of self doubt.

"There was a winner selected each week," she said. "On Week 1, I wasn't the winner. On Week 2, I wasn't the winner. After those two weeks, I just really wanted to give up."

But on the third week, after submitting her rendition of Tank's song "Next Breath", she was selected as a winner.

"After I was chosen, I was speechless. I was so thankful I did it," Broadnax said. "I was receiving so many text messages from family and friends. Then I started planning on my next step on going to New Orleans."

Performing at the festival

The 20th annual Essence Festival, which was held in New Orleans on July 3 - 6, is not exactly the kind of situation most inexperienced performers would be comfortable finding themselves in. Not only did the weekend see an attendance of around 550,000, but it also featured such musical heavyweights as Alicia Keys and Prince.

"It was different. It was amazing, but different," Broadnax said. "Just being surrounded by so many record labels, and so many celebrities. But it felt so right. Getting on the plane, my first airplane ride, I was really nervous, but when I made it to the Superdome, that feeling went away."

After a swift rehearsal, Broadnax waited while Tank took to the stage to open the festival.

"In the latter half of his set, he called us out, and he gave the audience some background on me," she said. "I sang 'Next Breath', and then his new release 'You're My Star'. It was just the best feeling ever. It was the biggest crowd I've performed in front of, and I rocked it."

Aftermath

Following her performance, Broadnax received overwhelming praise from both the professionals backstage and festival attendees. But while this positive exposure has led to offers for to sing at other venues, she has decided not to immediately capitalize on her success.

"I've not accepted any of the gigs, as at the moment I wouldn't be able to fully commit to them," she said. "I definitely want to finish out my degree at APSU and get my degree in December. But after that, I'll go on to pursuing music harder, whether in gospel or R&B. I have strong connections to Atlantic Records now, so hopefully something will come from this."